WELLINGTON Shire Council has asked its chief executive officer David Morcom to prepare a report into the feasibility of establishing a school of timber and forestry education precinct within the shire. Mr Morcom will investigate if the school is achievable and needed; if there would be industry support; if education providers are available; if the …
A former senior Treasury officer has waded into the heated debate about the future of Australia’s native forests. Dr. Frances Perkins worked as an economist in Canberra for 30 years for Treasury, the Department of Foreign Affairs and at the ANU. Dr. Perkins has launched a stinging critique of the economics of native forest logging …
Just before Christmas the State Government introduced new native vegetation policy that significantly weakens the protection of native habitat across Victoria. It did this despite more than 100 respected ecologists and scientists and a 70 strong force of local conservation groups pushing for the new land clearing laws to be overturned. Our remaining bushland and …
Just before Christmas the State Government introduced new native vegetation policy that significantly weakens the protection of native habitat across Victoria. It did this despite more than 100 respected ecologists and scientists and a 70 strong force of local conservation groups pushing for the new land clearing laws to be overturned. Our remaining bushland and …
THE state government has intervened in a Zoos Victoria campaign encouraging its visitors to buy sustainably sourced paper products, ordering it to be dumped or altered. Department of Primary Industries representatives called Zoos Victoria management on several occasions late last year to warn that its ”Wipe for Wildlife” campaign was contrary to government policy. The …
“It is a mistake to think that emissions from fossil fuels can be negated by increasing or protecting the storage potential of forests and other land based carbon.” So says a new report from Brussels-based NGO FERN. The report exposes the myth that fossil fuel emissions can be offset by planting trees or preserving forests. …
Almost 150 fines and 2800 formal warning letters were sent to people who threw cigarette butts from cars in the final three months of last year, including while bushfires were raging in the Blue Mountains. The latest figures from the Environment Protection Authority reveal that between September 1 and December 31, EPA officers fined an …
Environment Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed for the first time that the Abbott government will formally seek to wind back World Heritage listing of Tasmania’s forests, less than a year after it was approved. Mr Hunt said the government would meet an upcoming World Heritage Committee deadline to propose a boundary change to the 170,000-hectare …
Large, older trees have been found to grow faster and absorb carbon dioxide more rapidly than younger, smaller trees, despite the previous view that trees’ growth slowed as they developed. Research published in the journal Nature this week shows that in 97% of tropical and temperate tree species, growth rate increases with size. This suggests …
Today, 15 January 2014, WikiLeaks released the secret draft text for the entire TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Environment Chapter and the corresponding Chairs’ Report. The TPP transnational legal regime would cover 12 countries initially and encompass 40 per cent of global GDP and one-third of world trade. The Environment Chapter has long been sought by journalists …
